Pasta Puttanesca: A Fancy Pasta Dish for the Lazy Cook

I have, for many years, relied on pasta to come through in a pinch: I’ll make cacio e pepe when I get home drunk and need something fast and carb-y and cheesy; or I’ll make a quick tomato sauce when there’s not a vegetable in sight but a glut of canned stuff hiding somewhere. It always does the trick because it’s hard to fuck up even when you’re fucked up. You get it.

But pasta, just like us, likes to be fancy too sometimes. Special occasions warrant hours spent stewing together a meaty bolognese, or picking up lush lobster claws from the good fish place. If you want to spend neither extra time nor extra money and still feel fancy, though, I’ve found that puttanesca is the best option.

Puttanesca is a traditional Italian recipe that pulls from the greatest hits of a standard grocery store aisle—funky anchovies! briny capers! meaty olives! kicky pepper flakes! that can of tomatoes languishing in your pantry!—and hurries them all together into a thick, punchy sauce in as much time it takes to boil your pasta. You can use whatever pasta shape you like for this, technically, but it’s best with the long loopy kind that will sit on your plate in a big tangle.

The other great gift of a dish like this is that if you shop for it once, your future meals—pasta or otherwise—will be all the better for it. Splurge on the fancy olives, maybe kalamata or the wrinkly sticky black oil-cured kind, and your forthcoming sandwiches and salads will suddenly be brighter and pluckier. Add capers to your next chicken whatever; start sautéeing anchovies into all tomato-based things. None of these ingredients are particularly expensive or hard to find, but they carry a whole ton of weight in the kitchen.

So here’s how it all comes together: put on some water to boil, melt down your anchovies in oil, add the garlic and chili, cook your pasta, add the rest of the stuff to your sauce, and let it simmer and thicken while the pasta cooks. Combine the two with some pasta water to fuse everything together—pasta water is the Elmer’s glue of the kitchen—then scatter it all with some fresh herbs and you’re done with it. Honestly, don’t bother with a salad.

Pasta Puttanesca

(Adapted from Mark Bittman and Nigella Lawson)Serves 2

IngredientsOlive oil, about a generous tablespoon3 anchovies, or more if they’re small or you’re a fiend for them2-3 cloves garlic, minced or mashed to a pasteBig pinch of chili flakesFreshly cracked black pepper½ pound long pasta, like linguine or fettuccine or, yes, spaghettiSalt2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained⅓ cup olives, like kalamata or oil-cured, roughly chopped1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained of its juices and crushed with your hands (try it, it’s fun)A splash of wine or vermouth, if you have it around (this is sacrilege but I like it!)A handful of chopped parsley or basil

Put a large pot of water on to boil. It should be salty like the sea, but not offensively so.

In a wide pan, heat the oil over medium, and add the anchovies. Smush them around with a soft spatula or wooden spoon until they start to disintegrate and disappear into the oil. Add the pepper flakes and black pepper—adding the flakes now allows them to “bloom,” or develop flavor, in the oil, and marry with the garlic a little bit—and cook for another minute.

Add your pasta to the boiling water, swirl it around for a few seconds to keep it from sticking, then let it go. Add the drained and crushed tomatoes, capers, and olives to the pan, then let it simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes, until it’s gotten darker and thicker and saucier. Here you can add a splash of wine or white vermouth—I like the bright-sweet wine-iness it gives to the dish, but it’s not traditional and people might get mad about this, so do whatever you like.

Advertisement

When your pasta is al dente—not yet soft but not hard and crunchy on the inside—reserve a generous half cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Add most of the pasta water, too, which will help bind sauce to pasta, and let it all cook together for a minute.

This makes for a saucy pasta, but I like it that way—if you like yours a little more minimalist, leave some in the pan after you serve it, and save it for tomorrow’s toast or pasta or chicken whatever. It will keep nicely.

Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. From award-winning writing and photography to binge-ready videos to electric live events, GQ meets millions of modern men where they live, creating the moments that create conversations.